Sharif wants to keep cabinet small

The Pakistan prime minister in waiting has indicated that he would like to keep his cabinet small, even as debate continued over who would hold which portfolio.

As things stand, the candidates who are expected to get a ministerial slot include Ishaq Dar, who has been tipped as the country’s next finance minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who may take on as defence minister or minister for interior, while press reports said he may also be considered the water and power ministry. This ministry is one no minister wants to touch at this stage because of the load shedding crisis in the country.

For foreign minister, the person being considered is Sartaj Aziz, who held the post in 1999 prior to which he was finance minister in Sharif’s cabinet. Aziz, a secretary general of the party, will be guided by former bureaucrats Tariq Fatimi and Riaz Khokhar.

PML officials say the party is mulling over alliances with other regional parties and also what positions will be offered to them before finalising the cabinet. Others from the party tipped for positions in the cabinet include former generals Abdul Qadir Baloch and Salahuddin Tirmizi, former speaker Illahi Buksh Soomro and PML-N stalwarts Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.